Music History Monday: Pianist, Conductor, Composer, and a Cuckold for the Ages
Hans Guido von Bülow (1830-1894), circa 1875 We mark the birth on January 8, 1830 – 196 years ago today – of the German pianist, conductor, composer, and cuckold, Hans Guido von Bülow. Born in the...
8 Jan 202429min
Music History Monday: Shostakovich Symphony No. 13
On December 18, 1962 – 61 years ago today – Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 received its premiere in Moscow. The symphony stirred up a proverbial hornet’s nest of controversy, and we’re not tal...
18 Des 202322min
Music History Monday: The “Amusa”
Friederica Henrietta of Anhalt-Bernburg (1702-1723), the “Amusa” On December 11, 1721 – 302 years ago today – Johann Sebastian Bach’s employer, the 27-year-old Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen (1694...
11 Des 202315min
Music History Monday: Unplayable
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) in 1888, looking rather older than his 48 years We mark the premiere on December 4, 1881 – 142 years ago today – of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s one-and-only viol...
4 Des 202313min
Music History Monday: Richard Strauss, Stanley Kubrick, Friedrich Nietzsche, and “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) in 1894 On November 27, 1896 – 127 years ago today – Richard Strauss conducted the premiere performance of his sprawling orchestral tone poem Thus Spoke Zarathustra in t...
27 Nov 202321min
Music History Monday: The Great-Grandmother of All Concert Tours: Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour”
Elton Hercules John (born Reggie Kenneth Dwight; March 25, 1947) performing at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2023, during the last leg of his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour” We mark...
20 Nov 202318min
Music History Monday: Gioachino Rossini and the Comedic Mind
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) circa 1856 We mark the death on November 13, 1868 – 155 years ago today – of the opera composer Gioachino Antonio Rossini, in Paris, at the age of 76. He was o...
13 Nov 202319min
Music History Monday: The March King
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) in 1900 We mark the birth on November 6, 1854 – 169 years ago today – of the American composer, conductor, and violinist John Philip Sousa. Born in Washington, D.C., ...
6 Nov 202319min
